Wayward of the Flock
by Kuronue's Hat
Summary: Most kids complain about how the hot dogs in the cafeteria aren't cooked enough. Here, kids can't complain, can't talk to each other, can't look at each other. Nicknames are punishable by detention. And phone calls home are screened for content.
1. Chapter 1

Wayward of the Flock

I, the author of this story, hereby own shit. Don't sue, because trust me, you WILL win.

Am I religious? Hell no. I've never been to church, I didn't go to Sunday school, and I picked up my limited knowledge of the Christian religion from my grandmother and the TV. But the school in this story IS religious, and you should keep that in mind. Of course, most Christian schools are pretty nice...but there are some that are like the one I depict, too. Scared yet? You should be.

* * *

Yusuke sat in the back seat of the car, some hard rock music blasting through his headphones, watching boredly as telephone poles flashed by the window. The road was flanked by miles of weedy yellow fields, and the mountains were a blue ridge on the horizon. Overall, not exactly a stimulating environment for a school campus. It was secluded, though, and he guessed that was what the founders had been looking for anyway.

In the front seat, Atsuko Urameshi was staring ahead, her hands clenched around the steering wheel. He could only see the back of her head, but Yusuke could tell from her tense shoulders that she was pissed. His mother had been like this ever since he had banged up that gang member. Well, that was her problem. The bastard had deserved it.

"So, what's this place called?" Yusuke asked.

"John Ellison," Atsuko said tersely.

"John Ellison, huh? Well, that's great. And there are no girls there?"

"Why else would it be called 'John Ellison School for _Boys_'?"

"Shit, I'm just asking."

"Well, don't."

"Fine!"

Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat, turning up the volume on his CD player. The 'I am completely aloof and badass' routine was ruined when the car bumped over a hole in the road and Yusuke was squashed between his suitcase and the window. He growled angrily and shoved the luggage across the seat.

"Look, I'm just saying that—"

"Quiet, Yusuke."

"—that guy nearly killed Kuwabara—"

"I said quiet!"

"—and the cops never would have done a thing about it!"

The car screeched to a stop in the middle of the road, and the luggage flew forward. Atsuko turned around, her eyes glittering with anger.

"I don't want to hear that it wasn't your fault!" she screamed. "That man is in a coma! A _coma_! I didn't raise you to be this way, Yusuke!"

"You hardly raised me at all!" Yusuke yelled back. "You're always so drunk off your ass, you probably didn't even know you had a kid until the cops came to the door!"

Atsuko stared at him for a moment, her eyes dark with fury. After a moment, she turned around again, and the car started moving.

"I've been a bad mother, haven't I?" she murmured. Yusuke stared at the back of her head, eyes wide. She sniffled and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "It's all my fault..."

Yusuke turned and stared out the window. As loud as his music played, he could hear her crying all the way to the school.

* * *

"Are you Ms. Urameshi?" the secretary asked in a nasal voice. She wore a pair of glasses on the edge of her nose that seemed to magnify the bags under her eyes. Her brown hair was pulled into a bun, and she was dressed in a starchy blouse and a long dark skirt. Yusuke had the weird feeling that she had walked out of a photo from the 1950s.

"Yes, I'm Atsuko Urameshi," Atsuko answered. "I'm here about my son—"

"Yusuke Urameshi?" the secretary interrupted, her fingers clacking away on her computer's keyboard. "The boy who hospitalized a man?"

"Yeah, that's him." Atsuko grabbed Yusuke's arm and tugged him forward. He scowled as the secretary gave him a cool, disinterested look. "Say hi, Yusuke."

"Yo," he said grudgingly. "Big school you've got here."

The look on the secretary's face never changed.

"Yes, it is a big school. We wouldn't want you to get lost. I'm sure we can arrange for a guide." The secretary leaned toward a microphone and pressed a white button. "Minamino, please report to the lobby. Minamino, report to the lobby."

Not a minute after the announcement was made, they heard a telltale creak. Yusuke saw an eye peering through the space between a door and its frame. The boy seemed to calm down when he noticed Yusuke and Atsuko and opened the door so that he could enter the lobby. There was an innocent look about his pale face, and he had lovely red hair that tumbled into his clear green eyes.

"Minamino," the secretary called. "We have a new student. Give him a tour, and introduce him to Mr. Iwamoto."

"Yes, ma'am," Minamino answered. He glanced at the newcomer, but when Yusuke attempted to lock eyes, the redheaded boy looked at the ground hastily. "Please follow me." Without another word, he turned around and began to walk toward the door.

"What about my stuff?" Yusuke asked. Minamino froze at the question.

"Your stuff will be taken care of," the secretary's nasal voice answered.

Yusuke stared at Minamino's tense shoulders as the boy resumed walking. After a moment, Yusuke went through the door, closing it behind him before starting after the other boy.

"So, what are ya in for?" Yusuke asked conversationally. Minamino didn't respond.

"Uh, hello?" No response.

"Ya know, when someone asks a question, they're usually looking for an answer."

"This is the library," Minamino said suddenly, reaching out to touch a burnished brass doorknob. "It is open from seven o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening. No talking, food, or drinks are allowed. No books are to be removed."

"Hey, man, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Yusuke asked, frustrated. The other boy blanched.

"Please, you can't say things like that here," Minamino whispered, eyes wide. His pale face had become even paler and he had covered his mouth with one hand.

"Oh, so you noticed me," Yusuke retorted. "Let's try again. I'm Yusuke Urameshi. You got a name besides Minamino?"

Minamino looked around, as if checking that no one else was around. Once he had reassured himself that they were alone, he nervously locked eyes with Yusuke. When no one scolded him, he dropped his hand to reveal that the corners of his mouth were turned up in a hesitant smile. It looked weak, but it was nice all the same.

"Shuichi," Minamino answered. "Some people call me Kurama."

"Kurama huh? Cool name," Yusuke said. Kurama's smile widened.

"Thanks." He began to walk down the hall, and Yusuke fell into step beside the other boy. "You should only use it when we're alone, though. Never around teachers...or other students, for that matter."

"What? Why?" Yusuke asked, confused.

"Well..." Kurama glanced at him. "There are no rules about it, really. But if it seems like you're getting too close to someone, there's bound to be trouble."

"Oh, I get it," Yusuke nodded. "Homophobic?"

"Y... Yes, something like that." Kurama shrugged, not quite nonchalant. "Actually, the teachers don't approve of any kind of closeness. Calling someone by a nickname in front of a teacher could land you in detention."

Yusuke let out a low whistle.

"Whoa. Anything else I should know?" Yusuke asked. Kurama hummed thoughtfully.

"Just pretend that you're the only one in the school. That's usually your safest bet." Kurama smiled again. "Well, the dorms are upstairs. I can show you ours now, and then we'll come back down the other end so you can see the infirmary and the cafeteria."

"Sounds like a plan," Yusuke said, allowing Kurama to lead him up the steps. They paused for a moment on the second floor.

"This floor is mostly classrooms and the teachers' offices. We don't have any classes on this floor, though, so you can pretty much ignore it." They continued upward.

Yusuke noticed the lack of maintenance as soon as they reached the third floor. The floor was coated with a layer of dust, and the cream paint on the walls had completely fallen off in some places. The doorknobs were the same as the ones downstairs, but the brass looked like it hadn't been polished in years. Some were so rusty that Yusuke wondered if the doors even opened anymore.

"This is our dorm," Kurama murmured, stopping beside a door. He turned the knob and pressed his shoulder against the wood, shoving the door open.

Yusuke peered inside. The room was small, and there was only one mattress on the floor, covered with one of the thin, itchy wool blankets that Atsuko kept in the back of the car. A light bulb dangled from a chain that hung from the ceiling, and an iron crucifix was nailed to the wall opposite the door.

"It's not much," Kurama murmured, "but at least you don't have to worry about me or Hiei killing you in your sleep."

"Wait, you have another roommate?" Yusuke asked incredulously. "This shithole isn't good enough for one person, no way it'll fit three."

Kurama shook his head.

"We're lucky to have only three in here. Some of the other dorms have four or five boys."

"But... But those rooms are bigger, right?"

"I don't know," Kurama said with a shrug. "I've never seen the other rooms. The only students who get to see them are members of the disciplinary committee. They check up on us during the night, make sure that we aren't doing anything suspicious." Kurama gave him a sympathetic smile. "You'll get used to it after a while. Just don't get in trouble, and you'll be fine."

They walked down the hallway, descending the stairs at the other end. Kurama showed him the infirmary, which they were promptly thrown out of by Dr. Kamiya (according to Kurama, the man had no desire to see anyone unless they had been exposed to bubonic plague). After their run-in with the doctor, Kurama pointed out the closed doors of the cafeteria and informed him that it was only open during mealtimes. He also warned that the cook, Makihara, would not be happy if food was taken out of the cafeteria.

"So, guess that's the end of my tour, huh?" Yusuke asked as they passed the lobby and ended up where they had started.

"I still have to introduce you to Mr. Iwamoto," the other boy responded. Kurama stopped next to a door. "This is my class. Don't say anything unless you're spoken to, understand? Introduce yourself to Mr. Iwamoto - politely. Don't talk back to him...and never, ever show disrespect."

Yusuke nodded, and Kurama turned the knob.

Not one of the students in the classroom seemed to notice when the door opened. A short, bespectacled boy with dark hair stood beside his desk, reading aloud from a book; he never even paused. Kurama's eyes immediately dropped to the floor when the teacher turned and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Minamino," the man sneered. "So kind of you to return."

"Please excuse my absence, sir," Kurama said, bowing his head deeply. "I was asked to show a new student around."

"New student?" the man said, his eyes moving to Yusuke. "Jaganshi, stop reading." As soon as the order was given, the boy closed his mouth. He continued to stare at his open book, however. "Well, come in."

Kurama walked forward wordlessly, and Yusuke followed him. The teacher was tall, and even through his starched shirt and black tie it was easy to see his strong muscles. He had beady black eyes that glinted behind a pair of glasses, and his complexion was tinted a rich olive shade.

"Name?" the teacher barked.

"Yusuke Urameshi," Yusuke answered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kurama tense up, and tacked on a belated, "sir."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"Welcome to John Ellison School for Boys," the man said. His tone conveyed anything but welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Wayward of the Flock

It's been a while, but I'm finally continuing this story. Some of my favorite authors started writing again so I decided, well why not me? Hope some of you guys are still here to read and review.

Also... Yes, Kurama has short hair. Yes, Hiei's hair is all-black and he has glasses. Sorryyy! Everyone in the story is human, so red eyes and white-streaked hair can't be natural. And since the school they're at is uber strict, they don't allow colored contacts or hair dye. Don't worry, you'll get your favorite bishie features back later in the story.

* * *

The lunch bell rang minutes later, and Yusuke couldn't be happier to get out of the classroom. Unfortunately, Mr. Iwamoto had asked Kurama to stay behind, so Yusuke had to go through the lunch line alone.

As he looked through the large, open metal fridge, Yusuke noticed something odd. There was no milk. He didn't really care—it wasn't like he had some emotional attachment to the milk—but it was weird. He thought every school served milk. Oh well, Yusuke thought as he took a bottle of apple juice from the box in the fridge. He followed the line, putting it out of his mind.

When he saw the food, Yusuke cheered up a bit. At least there was _something _normal in this school. Today's menu was pasta with some heavily-breaded mystery meat and marinara. The pasta was al dente and the marinara was watery, but that was normal for school food. He was almost thankful as he put a plate of the pasta on his tray. Further down, he could see a large assortment of fruit.

Just when Yusuke was about to take an apple, someone stepped on his heel. He turned, frowning, and saw the boy with glasses who had been reading back in the classroom. The boy was staring down at his tray, but Yusuke felt a very deliberate kick at his ankle. Annoyed, he was just opening his mouth when he noticed the boy was pointing toward the head of the line.

Yusuke turned to look. Not one of the three boys ahead of him had taken fruit. The prepackaged foods were almost gone, with only a few packets of Goldfish remaining. Yusuke watched as each of the three boys took a package from the pile. What was wrong with this picture…?

He started to turn back to the boy who had poked him, only to find a napkin on his own tray that hadn't been there a moment ago.

_fruit is rotten _The message was written in hastily scrawled pen, almost illegible.

Yusuke tucked the napkin under his plate and bypassed the fruit, taking one of the last two packets of Goldfish. He noticed that the boy behind him snatched up the other packet and quickly left the line.

For a second, Yusuke wasn't sure where to go. Most of the long tables were full. He glanced at the black-haired boy, watching him make a beeline for the table in the furthest corner.

_He warned me about the fruit, _Yusuke thought. _He can't be that bad. _Making up his mind, Yusuke followed the boy to the table in the corner.

As soon as he sat down, the boy snuck a quick glance up at him. Then he turned his eyes on the bit of napkin sticking out from under Yusuke's plate. Yusuke returned the napkin, and the boy immediately turned it over to the clean side. He slipped a battered-looking pen from the inside of his sleeve and began scribbling.

_are you the new roommate _Yusuke nodded shortly, and the boy, who must be the Hiei mentioned by Kurama, continued. _don't eat all the goldfish_

Yusuke didn't know why he shouldn't be eating the Goldfish, but he set aside the packet anyway. Hiei gave a short, approving nod.

They passed the next few minutes eating and ignoring each other. When Hiei tensed slightly, Yusuke glanced over his shoulder. Not a moment later, Kurama sat down beside him.

He looked awful. His beautiful red hair was mussed and he was shaking like a leaf. The little color his face had all seemed to have drained into his reddish nose. Yusuke couldn't get a good look at his eyes, but they looked red and puffy, as if he had been crying.

Yusuke watched curiously as Hiei's hand slipped away from his tray and under the table. Kurama blinked, his eyes quickly darting to meet Hiei's and then back down.

When Hiei nudged his own, unopened package of Goldfish across the table, Yusuke suddenly noticed that there was nothing on Kurama's tray but apple juice and the crusty, burnt part of the meat. Apparently Kurama had come to lunch too late to get any real food. Hiei pushed the packet forward insistently, but Kurama shook his head. Tears were starting to splash down his cheeks, falling onto the tray before him with little patters.

Yusuke felt the movement of Hiei's foot under the table, and when Kurama glanced up, Hiei was frowning sternly. Kurama sniffled, looking miserable as he opened the package and began to eat.

* * *

"Hold _still_, you idiot." It was said quietly so the sound wouldn't travel through the walls and sharply enough that volume wasn't needed anyway.

Yusuke frowned, trying to keep his legs from cramping. Classes had ended for the day, and now he was in the dorm with his roommates. At the moment, Kurama was laying on his side as Hiei had instructed, petting the mattress beneath him nervously. Yusuke and Hiei, in the meantime, were doing an odd balancing act in the center of the room. Yusuke squatted awkwardly while Hiei stood on his knees, unscrewing the light fixture from the ceiling.

It was frustrating. He had to hold still, his legs seizing up from all the weight on the unused muscles. Yusuke couldn't even look up to check Hiei's progress. Hiei may have been above the chain that the glowing light bulb hung from, but Yusuke would have to stare right at it. And he somehow didn't think he'd look good in glasses like Hiei's.

"Dammit Yusuke, stop shaking—"

"This isn't easy ya know!" Yusuke protested.

"Kurama never had a problem with it," Hiei grumbled.

"Yes I did," Kurama murmured, "but you get used to it after a while."

"Will you both just shut the hell... Got it."

The fixture came loose, and Hiei smirked as he moved it out of the way. He reached up into the hole where the light had been.

"So what have you got up there, anyway?" Yusuke asked. It couldn't be anything big; the light-hole was only a few inches wide.

"We keep a lot of things up there," Kurama murmured as Hiei pulled out a bottle and tossed it onto the mattress. "Some food, medicine, a flashlight..."

"Needs new batteries," Hiei said dismissively. He tossed a plastic baggy onto the mattress now, and Yusuke heard a metallic clink as the contents of the bag were jumbled.

"And whatever else we've managed to steal," Kurama finished. "I have a few pictures of my family up there, too."

Hiei took another bag from the hole and then hopped lightly down from his perch. Yusuke groaned in relief, trying to stand upright. His muscles were not agreeing with him, so he shuffled oddly to the end of the mattress and sat down near Kurama's feet.

Hiei was sitting beside Kurama now, opening the bags and sifting through the supplies. Kurama had turned slightly onto his back.

"Kurama, you know that's not going to work," Hiei said flatly, not looking up from the bandages he had just removed from a bag. Yusuke saw Kurama flinch and look away.

"It wasn't that bad," Kurama murmured.

"You were crying," Hiei argued. "It was bad enough."

Kurama bit his lip. He unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. Letting out a shaky sigh, the red-haired boy turned so that his back was exposed. Yusuke's stomach flopped over.

"Holy SHIT—"

"Quiet," Hiei snapped. He placed a hand on Kurama's shoulder, looking closely at the angry welts all over his back. His voice was gentler when he spoke to the redhead. "What did he do this with?"

"Cane."

"Iwamoto did that?" Yusuke breathed. The welts were almost bleeding. Bright red against white skin. Disturbing.

"It could have been worse," Kurama said waveringly.

Hiei sighed, shaking his head and opening the bottle he had taken from the light-hole. Hydrogen peroxide, Yusuke realized. Kurama let out a tiny cry when Hiei began pouring the chemical over his welts, but he took the pillow into his arms and shoved it up to his mouth, stifling any further sound.

_...Christ, _Yusuke thought, sickened. _If they do things like this to a guy like Kurama, what would they do to _me_?_

"Why?" Yusuke demanded.

"Why what?" Hiei asked without glancing up.

"Why did he do this? What did Kurama do?"

"When the fuck do bastards like that have a reason—"

"I was flirting with you."

Yusuke and Hiei both froze. Kurama had turned his head to the side so that he could speak, and the tears had returned.

"I'm sorry," Kurama whispered. He closed his eyes, rubbing his cheek against the pillow. "I'm really sorry. I-I can't help it. I'm sick." He started sobbing. "S-see, this is w-why my m-mother put me in h-here, so I c-could get better..."

"Kurama, I've _told _you this," Hiei said angrily. "You don't need to get better. You're not sick. _Iwamoto _is sick." It sounded like he had said it many times before.

Kurama didn't say anything more. He kept crying, little sobs audible, but he didn't say another word. Nor did Hiei speak as he resumed treating the welts on the redheaded boy's back.

Later that night, Yusuke lay awake on the edge of the mattress nearest the door. There were only a few inches of space between his front and Kurama's back. The red-haired boy was curled up with Hiei, head on the shorter boy's chest, his nightshirt covering the bandages Hiei had wrapped him in. Yusuke stared at the redhead's sweet face, streaked with tears and brows furrowed in pain even as he slept.

How could anyone treat Kurama so badly? The question plagued Yusuke until he fell asleep. And even in his dreams he saw Kurama, a redheaded angel screaming as the feathers were plucked from his wings.


	3. Chapter 3

Wayward of the Flock

Yosh! I'm writing another chapter! Twice in the same year, what's gotten into me?

* * *

A harsh scraping sound woke Yusuke a few hours later. He gave a little spasm and opened his eyes, sitting straight up in bed and wondering why the hell he was in pitch blackness. There was a streetlamp just below his bedroom window, so he hadn't slept in complete darkness in years. It was nearly a minute before he remembered that he was at school, and that the room he was in had no window.

"Shit!"

_Huh? _Yusuke felt movement beside him and heard a low voice cursing. Curious, he reached out with one hand and grasped what felt like a shoulder. He had just realized that the shoulder was small enough that it must be Hiei's when another scraping sound hit his ears, louder this time.

"What's going on?" Yusuke asked.

"Room checks! They must have changed the schedule again!"

"Room checks?" Wait, Kurama had mentioned that earlier. "What do we do?"

"Just—just get as far to that side as you can and pretend to be asleep. Don't open your eyes until they tell you, and don't open your mouth no matter what."

_This does not sound good, _Yusuke thought, moving over as far as he could without falling off the mattress.

"H-Hiei?" Kurama murmured, sounding sleepy but scared.

"Shh, quiet. They're doing another check."

"But we had one last night," Kurama said worriedly.

"I know, they changed the schedule." Hiei sounded like he was trying not to panic. "Mouth shut. Not a word."

There was some shifting behind Yusuke and a slight whimper from Kurama. Yusuke had just enough time to shut his eyes before a third loud scrape sounded and the room was suddenly flooded with light from outside.

"Wake up you!"

Remembering Hiei's instructions, Yusuke opened his eyes. There were three unfamiliar boys in the doorway and another inside the room. The light abruptly went on, and as it swung from the chain Yusuke got a better look at the intruders. They were healthier than any other student he had seen at the school, tall and solid with clean, well-laundered clothes and neat hair (or in the case of the one who had turned on the light, a shaved head).

"Up," barked the boy in the middle of the room, who was apparently the leader. Kurama scrambled off the mattress immediately, Hiei crawling after him on hands and knees, and Yusuke rolled off the other side.

As the disciplinary committee grabbed the mattress and upended it, Yusuke snuck a glance at his roommates. Kurama was sitting quietly with his wide, frightened eyes on the floor and his legs tucked under him as if he wanted to make himself as small as possible. Hiei sat beside him, glaring hotly at the wall across from him, his knees pulled up under his chin.

"What are you looking at, Jaganshi? Find a spot of dirt?" sneered the boy with the shaved head. Hiei didn't answer. "Stand up, all of you."

Yusuke did as told, rising to his feet. He sent another glance across the room and froze, seeing the stain on Hiei's sleep pants.

_Oh crap._

"What is that?" asked one of the boys. Kurama sent a sideways glance at Hiei and paled. "Well, what is it?"

"What does it look like?" Hiei said with the sort of angry defensiveness of a cornered animal. When two of the boys dove toward him and grabbed his arms, Hiei snarled and struggled. "Get your hands off me!"

"Why? You couldn't keep your own hands off, could you? And with them in the room too—shameless."

"I didn't do anything, I just woke up like that!"

"Sure," the leader said sarcastically. "And that's why you've got it all over your hands, huh?"

As if to stress that point, one of the boys holding Hiei's arm seized his wrist. Hiei let out a cry of fury, trying to keep his arm still, but the other boy was bigger and stronger. Hiei's pale face turned redder than Kurama's hair as his hand was pushed up to it, smearing seed all over his cheek and mouth. Yusuke was suddenly, vividly reminded of some advice he had heard about training a dog not to mess on the carpet by rubbing its nose in its own crap.

"What's wrong? Don't like it so much now?" Hiei growled at the taunt and set his teeth as the boy attempted to force his fingers into his mouth. His teeth remained firmly locked, until one of the boys punched him in the gut. Hiei gasped in pain, giving unwilling access to the fingers.

"Hah, look at the mess you made! Why don't we get that cleaned up for you, hmm?"

The boys dragged Hiei out of the room, paying no mind to his screeches and wild thrashing. Yusuke made to follow, but he had barely gotten his head out the door before Kurama grabbed his shoulders from behind.

"Oh please don't," Kurama begged him. "You'll make it worse. He hates it when people watch."

"Where are they taking him?" Yusuke demanded.

"To get cleaned up."

More scraping sounds filled the hall as doors opened, curious boys emerging from their rooms to see who was getting punished this time. They followed the disciplinary committee down the hall to the washroom. Yusuke waited for all of two minutes, but when he heard a scream he broke away from Kurama and ran to catch up to the crowd.

"Out of the way," Yusuke hissed, elbowing his way through the flock of boys. He stopped just short of the front since he was able to see over the shoulders of the other onlookers. As soon as he saw Hiei, he wished he had taken Kurama's advice and stayed in the room. He hadn't known his roommates for a full day, but this... This was the last thing he had ever wanted to see.

"Get off, damn you!" Hiei cried as he was stripped naked and dragged under a showerhead. "It wasn't my fault!"

"It's bad to lie, Jaganshi." The leader grinned darkly as the tap was turned to full blast.

Hiei screamed and shuddered violently as ice-cold water pounded down on his bare skin. The pair who had grabbed him before were holding him in place while a third boy scrubbed him with a hard-bristled brush. Once they had scrubbed Hiei's body until it was red and raw, they grabbed him by his hair and shoved his head under the spray. Hiei jerked away, sputtering, but they pushed him back under and drowned him in the freezing water.

"There, all clean now," said one of the boys in a mockingly caring voice as they tugged Hiei back. The boy brushed Hiei's soaked black hair out of his eyes and twirled a lock around his finger. "Don't you feel better now?"

_Oh God, this is sick, _Yusuke's mind reeled. Unable to watch any more of this torture, he shoved his way back out of the crowd, hurrying back down the hall and into his room. He ran a hand through his hair and then looked at Kurama, who had put the mattress back in place and was compulsively smoothing his hands over the blanket. His face was white and streaked with tears. _He knows. He knows what they're doing. How many times has this happened?_

Not long after, the disciplinary committee returned, dragging Hiei between them. They threw him back inside, where he stumbled, tripped over the edge of the mattress, and landed in a heap on top of the blanket.

"Learn some self-control," the boy with the shaved head said in a sort of dismissal, tossing Hiei's sleep pants after him. The boy looked at Yusuke and Kurama, smirking wickedly. "Have a good night."

The door closed with a crunch.

For a long moment no one dared to move. There was the scrape of a door as the disciplinary committee went to check the next room. Then, very slowly, Hiei sat up. He curled in on himself, his legs tucked up under his chin, his head bowed over his knees. He didn't bother going to retrieve his dirty pants from the corner, just sat silently on the far side of the bed. Yusuke stared at Hiei's trembling shoulders and couldn't tell if he was shaking from the cold or the force of his own resentment.

"Hiei?" Yusuke said quietly. "Are you okay, man?"

"Leave me alone."

"I-I'm sorry," Kurama whispered.

"_I said leave me the hell alone!_"

Kurama brought his hand to his mouth, attempting to stifle a sob. Yusuke frowned and pushed the distraught redhead toward the mattress. As Kurama climbed into the middle, leaving nearly a foot of space between himself and Hiei, Yusuke raised a hand and tugged on the light chain, returning the room to pitch blackness. When he got back into bed, as close to the edge as he could, he felt Kurama's uneven breaths tickling the back of his neck.

A few minutes passed with only Kurama's faint crying to break the silence. But soon there was a sharp, distinctly lower gasp and screams quieted against a pillow. Though Kurama eventually stopped crying, the screams continued for hours.

* * *

It was hard to look Hiei in the face the next morning.

They were woken at five thirty and dressed in silence. Kurama struggled to get his arms through his shirt sleeves without disturbing the bandaged wounds on his back, and kept looking at Hiei as if he wanted to ask for help but was too embarrassed. When Kurama looked at Yusuke pleadingly, Yusuke took a step forward. That was as far as he got before Hiei abruptly stalked toward the redhead. From the look on his face Yusuke was almost afraid that Hiei was going to attack, but the shorter boy just grabbed the sleeve of Kurama's shirt and held it open.

"Thank you," Kurama said softly as he slid his hand through.

Hiei's face contorted in disgust that Yusuke knew wasn't meant for Kurama. "Hn."

They got Kurama's arm through the sleeve, and then Hiei began to do up the front of the shirt, even though Kurama probably could have done that by himself. The redhead bit his lip, looking at his friend searchingly.

"I'm sorry," Kurama whispered, just as he had last night.

"It wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't yours either." Kurama gave Hiei one of those shy smiles that had immediately drawn Yusuke to him. Hiei actually closed his eyes and turned his face away, as if he were unable to bear it. As if the punishment last night had convinced him that he couldn't possibly be innocent.

It hurt just to look at him.

It was too quiet.

"Do they do this a lot?" Yusuke asked, more to fill the silence than anything. Hiei and Kurama blinked at him, startled.

"Oh... Oh, yes," Kurama answered as Hiei resumed dressing him. "The checks are supposed to be random, but they do twelve every month, so it's not too hard to predict if you know the disciplinary committee's class schedules. They get someone every time. Sometimes it's us, sometimes it's someone else."

Hiei did up the last button of Kurama's shirt and looked the redhead up and down, checking to make sure he hadn't missed any. He gave a short nod.

"We should go," Hiei said gruffly. "We don't want to be the last ones to breakfast."

They went down to the cafeteria together and got their food (gray oatmeal and apple juice—again, no milk). Just about every eye in the cafeteria followed Hiei, some pitying and far more mocking and amused. Yusuke glared at every one of those eyes until they shied away.

_Yeah, just try to look at him. Fuckers. _Yusuke raised his chin, feeling that he had to give his disgraced roommate at least this form of protection. They sat down at the same table they had shared yesterday, and this time Kurama and Hiei's roles seemed to be reversed. Hiei poked at his food listlessly while Kurama attempted to cheer him up with offerings of packets of syrup and sugar. After nearly a minute of prodding, Hiei finally managed to look at Kurama.

_What do you think you're doing? _Hiei's flat look seemed to say.

Kurama responded with a beat of his lashes and a softening of his eyes. _Please. I don't want you to feel bad anymore._

Hiei sighed through his nose and took the sugar, ripping it open and dumping it on his oatmeal. _Fine. _He shoved a spoonful of the oatmeal in his mouth and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling in a look of annoyance. _See? I'm eating it. Now stop staring at me, or we'll be caught. _

Kurama's lips tilted up at the corners, and he quickly looked back down at his own tray, some of the distress that had been in his eyes melting away. _Okay._

Yusuke watched the exchange in fascination. He had never seen so much expressed without words before. He glanced around the room, wondering if everyone here knew this nonverbal means of communication, but he couldn't see any of the telltale signs—the other boys seemed to ignore each other just as Kurama had warned him. But the way Kurama and Hiei read each other...

_Well, if you really want to talk and your mouth can't do it, you're bound to find other ways._

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A/N: Another chapter ended. I suddenly had inspiration to write it yesterday after suffering sleep deprivation for nearly two weeks (my new roommate and I have very different sleep patterns). *shrugs* Hiei got a bit more attention this chapter, as I'm feeling more in sync with him right now. Hope you all enjoyed that...or, well, since it wasn't particularly pleasant attention I guess enjoy isn't really the word I'm looking for here.

- Yes, schools like this do exist, though they're rare. I got the idea for this story after reading an article about them and proceeded to research them in full. If you want more information, just Google 'reform school abuse'.


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